Electric-railway safety system.



M. STRANG.

ELECTRIC RAILWAY SAFETY SYSTEM.

APPLIGATION FILED JULY 29, 1912.

Patented Jan. 26, 1915.

2 SHEBTSSHEET 1.

ame/Wto@ M. STRNG.

ELECTRIC RAILWAY SAFET SYSTEM.

APPLICATION FILED JULI2-9 1912.

1,126,122. l Mmm @11.26, 1915.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

.7 fi l @jA i@l "27 a MW @ttm/M0155.

MINOR s'rrmire, or' TEcuMsEH, MICHIGAN.

'Emerald-RAILWAY SAFETY srs'rnn.

Specication of Lettersv Patent.

Patented aan. ee?, mie..

Application med July 29, 1912, Serial No. 712,089.

To all 'whom it may concern.'

Be it known that I, MINOR S'rRaNG, a citizen of the United States,residing at Tecumseh, in the county of Lenawee and State of Michigan,have invented certain new and useful Improvements-in Electric- RailwaySafety Systems; and I do hereby declare the following to be alful'l,clear, and exact description of the invention, such as willenable othersskilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to improvements 1n safety appliances forelectrical railroads and more particularly to a safety and signalingsystem for blocks between slding or turn outs 7 of` an electricalrailway,-one object of the invention being to provide means wherebysections of the trolley wire or third rail will be automaticallysegregated so as not to supply current to the motors of cars approachingthe sldlngs when another car is in the block between two sidings.

A further object is to so construct and arrange a safety system of thecharacter specied that several cars traveling in the same direction incomparatively close proximity to each other, will be permitted to passfrom one block to another without taking the siding, and so that thedanger signal at this end of the block will be reset 'and the segregatedtrolley wire section made dead after each of the group of cars haspassed, for cars running in the opposite direction, until the last ofthe several cars shall have passed. A

A further object is to provide a safety system for electric railwaysembodying safety and danger signals; means for automatically segregatingportions of the supply conductor, and means for effecting the automaticapplication of the car brakes if a car should, by its momentum, pass asegregated trolley wire section when the same is dead.

lVith these and other objects in view, the invention consists in certainnovel features in the arrangement and coperation of devices andelectrical circuits as hereinafter set forth and pointed out 'in theclaims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a diagrammatical viewillustrating my improvements, and represents a block of railway betweentwo sidings or turnouts. Fig. 2 is a fragmentary View showing the trackcontact devices, shoes on a car to coperate therewith, and the brakeapplying mechanism. Fig. 8 is a view of a 1between two sidings orturn-outs 2 and 3,

the block thus extending from one siding to another. My improvements areadaptable for use on a road employing as a supply conductor, a trolleywire or a third rail, but for convenience, I have illustrated in Fig. 1of the `drawing, a trolley wire 4. Near each end of the block (adjacentto the respective sidings 2-3) sections 5 of the trolley wire areelectrically segregated from the main portions of the wire, by means ofsuitable. insulating inserts 6. Near each block terminal a signal tower7 is located and each of these is provided with a danger signal 8 and asafety signal 9. Each signal tower may be conveniently made hollow andconstructed with suitable compartments for the housing of variousinstruments, hereinafter explained. Each segregated trolley wire section5 is shunted by means of a conductor 10 so as not to interfere with theelectrical continuity of the trolley wire circuit and each section 5 isconnected, by a conductor 11 with a contact 12 of a relay 13. This relaycomprises two solenoid coils let-15 in which a core member 16 (common toboth coils) is movable. rll`he lever 'L7 of the relay, whichis pivotedat 18, is disposed between the two coils and loosely connected, betweenits ends, with the' core member 16. rll`he lever 17 is provided near itsupper end with a contact point 19 to en-V gage the contact 12, and thislever also has secured thereto, a block 20, of insulating material, tomove a spring finger 21 into electrical contact with a finger 22. Thelever 17 is also provided with a contact point 23 to engage a contact62. A spring 25, fixed at one end to a suitable support, is attached atits other end to the lever 17 in such manner as to retain said lever inthe position to which it may be moved by the solenoids and thus insurethe effectiveness `of the electrical contacts controlled by said lever.A i

A relay, such as above described is contained within each tower 7, andthe latter also contains an instrument 26, comprising two solenoid coils27-28, the cores 29-30 i reverse direction by s rings 33. The arms31--32 are -provide with 'dogs 34- 35 adapted, respectively, 'tocoperate with ratchet teeth 36-37 on adisk 38, the-two, sets of teethbeingso arranged that the dog 34 will operate to turn the disk 38.inone, direction, and so that the dog 35 W111 operate to turn said diskin the opposite direction. The disk 38 is mounted on a suitable s indle39 and carries 'a cam 40, with which atter,

a pivoted arm 41 having a roller 42) coperates. The arm 4 is maintainedin operative relation to the cam by means of a spring 43, and carries acontact 44 to engagea contact 45, said arm and contacts constituting acircuit closer -for a purpose hereinafter explained.

At each block terminal, contact rails 46 and 47 are located atrespective sides of the track, one of said contact rails -46 being inposition to be engaged by a pivoted, springpressed shoe 48 carried by arolling equipment 49, running in one direction, and the contact rail 47,bein in position -to be en-v gaged by said pivote contact shoe when the'rolling equipment is traveling in the reverse direction, and both ofthese car shoes are electrically connected with the trolley. Anothercontact rail 50 is also located adjacent to the track at each blockterminal to be engaged by the shoe 48, for a purpose hereinafterdescribed, and a fourth contact rail 51 is provided at each blockterminal to be engaged, under certain conditions, by a separatespring-pressed piv oted shoe 52 on the rolling equipment. Chains orropes 53 .are connected with the shoes 48 and 52 for the purposes ofraising them out of reach with the contact rails when desired to do so.

For convenience, the block terminals shown in Fig. 1 at the respectivesidings, may be designated A and B.

A-conductor line 54 is connected with the contact rait 46 atB and,extending to the block terminal A, is connected with one terminal ofsolenoid coil 27. The other terminalo'f this coil is connected by aconductor 55 with one terminal of solenoid 14 of relay 13, and with theother terminal of this solenoid, a conductor, 56 is connected. Aconductor 57 electrically connects the conductor 56 with one of thetrack rails. From the juncture of the conductors y56-and 57, aconductor'58 extends to, and is connected with, one terminal of the coilof the solenoid 28, and the other terminal of this coil is connected, bya conductor 59, with the contact rail 50.

Normally, when the block-is clear, a circuit Will be closed at contacts12-19 of relay13, to render active or put current on the segregatedtrolley wire sections 5, so that a car may proceed past the same. Thiscircuit may be traced as follows: from the trolley wire, at the left ofthe siding terminal at A, by means of a conductor 60 to lever 17 ofrelay 13, to relay contact 12, and

then by conductor 11 to the trolley wire section 5. A branch 11n-11bfrom this circuit includes a safety signal 11. When a car (running inthe direction of the arrow in Fig. 1) Vpasses the block terminal B, andthe car' shoe 48 engages' the contactrail 46 at B, a circuit will beestablished from the trolleywire through car shoe 48 and contact rail 46at B to the first described circuit, and the solenoids 14 and 27 (atA)will be energized. When the solenoid 14 is thus rendered active, therelay lever 17 will be moved to' the position shown at station A,thereby open-clrcuiting the trolley wire section 5 at A, and at the sametime closing a circuit through a danger signal 61. The danger signalcircuit includes the contact 23 ofrelay lever 17, a contact 62,connected by a conductor 63 with one terminal o the signal, and aconductor 64 connecting the other terminal of the signal with a trackrail. When the relay lever 17 is moved to the position shown at theA-end of the block, the finger 21 will be moved into contact with thefinger 22 and establish a partial circuit including contact-rail 51,' aconductor 65, fingers 21-22 and a short conductor 66 connecting thefinger 22 with conductor 64; The west bound car (indicated by the arrow)now occupies the block, and an east bound car arriving at A, will ind adanger signal set against it and will also be prevented from proceedinginto the block, by reason of the fact that the segregated trolley Wiresection 5 will be dead; the circuit which supplies this trolley wiresection being open at contacts 12-19 of the relay. Should the motormanof the east-bound car fail to observe the danger si al, and per` mit hiscar to run with s cient momentum (as on a down grade) to pass thetrolley wire section 5, the car shoe 52 will make contact with thecontact rail 51 and complete the partial circuit 65-66-214-22- 64,through a lconductor 67, a solenoid 68 on the car and a conductor 69connected with the trolley. The solenoid 68 controls a latch 70 whichengages a spring-actuatedA siding. The shoe 48 on the west-bound car,'

upon approaching the A-end of the block will engage the contact rail 47for the purpose o reversing the relay and rendering active thewiresection 5 at A. This result is accom lished byenergiZih ,'tliejrelay solenoidA 5 through-a cicuitw 'ichimay be described as follows:from the trolley wire through car shoe: 48 to contact rail 47; then by aconductor 74 to solenoid' 15; fromthe latter, 'by conductor 75 toconductor* 57, and by the latter to the track rail. The en'- ergi'zingoftherelay solenoidv lf'will cause theleverf 17 t6 moveto position,A toclose the contacts"19f-12 and'4 thus'close the circuit which' suppliescurrent to the' Segre ated Wire"'section 5 at\ A. rIhe'west-biotin beoperated precisely'l as hereinbefore stated in describing theoperation'of the devices atA'.' Should cars reach respective ends of theblock at the same time, the danger devices'at both ends of the blockwould be set. One car or the other would be entitled to the right of wayby prearranged orders, and the conductor of the car having the right ofway willbe enabled'to render ac? tive'the'wire section 5, by closingVahand switch'76,.-Isaid switch being held normally open by means of aspring 77. The movable arm of this switch comprises two conductormembers 76", 7 6b connected by wires 78, 78a with the trolley Wire, andthestationary contact 79 of said switch -is connected by a conductor80wit-h 'the conductor 74, while the stationaryv contact '79 isconnected by a. Wire 7 9b with'conductor 59.v Itis apparent that when'the switch 76 is closed on the contact 7 9 the solenoidl will be`energized'and the circuit which renders the wire section 5 active, willbe closed 'at 12-19. When the switch 76 is closed, a circuit will alsobeestablished from the sup# ply conductor byj'conductors 78, '78a and 7 9hto conductor 59, through solenoid 28 to conductor 58 and'from the'latterto the track rail by way-of' 'conductor 57. This will energize solenoid28 and cause the'disk 38 to be moved back one tooth, said disk havingpreviously been movedy forward by the action of solenoid 27, when thecar entered the B-end of the block. lit is sometimes desiredv to runseveral cars close together in the same direction before permitting anycars to pass over a block in the opposite direction. lt is to permitsuch operation of the line that the instrument 26. is. provided. When awest-bound car passes the track shoe 46 at B, and causes the operationof the relay 13 at A, as before described,- the solenoid 27 ofinstrument 26 at A will, also be energized and cause the dog 34 toengage a tooth 36'of disk 38, the distance of one tooth. This will nothowever besuiticient to release the arm 41 vfrom the larger part of thecam 40. When the second car enters the block at B, the solenoid 27 willwill be cari' may nw proceed. It will be. understood that when theeast-bound car passes through'- the block the circuits and devices'at Bwill again energized and the disk 3 8 will, be

Inovjed anothertooth; the' caiirnow permits u ting 4the arnf'41 'to droprand-fthe 'contact r44" on-said' arm to engage thec'ontact 45.v The"contact`45i`s connected'by a lconductor 80 withA the -conductbr255, andthe arm 41 is'y connected bya': conductor, 81 with'the con- 'twokparallel 'circuitswill be established,-

one throught. the frelayv solenoid 14 for resettingthe4 devices atdanger, and the other circuit ywill energize the'solenoid'f28 (which isa slow-acting solenoid) for the pur of causing dog 35 to engage theteethfgof disk 38 'and return said' disk, (step by step.- as the'several carspass), 'to its normal po;v sition. The parallel'circuits,above referred to, may betraced as follows: The circuit of. relaysolenoid 14 may be traced from"con'- tact rail 50 by conductor to X;'thenby conductor 81 to "arm 41, toI contact 45, to conductor 80; byconductor 55`to solenoid 14; then by conductor 56 to conductor 57, andlbythe latter to a track rail; the "other parallel circuit including thesolenoid 28` of instrument 26 may be traced from point'X on conductor59to solenoid 28 and from the latter by' conductor 58 to conductor 57.When the last car of the groupl has passed the block terminal,the-instru1nent26 willl have been reset to its normal position and thedevices will remain at safety, with the safety signal '11 set and thesegregated wire section 5, 'rendered active.

'It willbc understood that the various instruments, devices and circuitswill be provided for each block terminal and that they will` be operatedautomatically as hereinbefore describedfor cars traveling in eitherdirection.

' Should the trolley Wheel of a car going in one direction accidentallyreach or pass the insulated section of the'trolley wire, and .travelupon the track or block which is occupied by other cars traveling in anopposite direction, said first named car can be returnedrto the sidingbyhavingan attend- 'ant press the conductors switch. This leaves the'signals set to safety, but the first named car does not dare proceeduntil the cars that are already lon the block have passed through.

Having thus fully described my invention, what claim as new and desireto secure by Letters Patent is l'. Inan electrical railroad blocksystem, the combination with a block of railroad, a

supply conductor provided with electrically segregated portions,conductors shuntlng sald segregated portions of the supply conductor,rolling equipment and a contact shoe carried by the latter and connectedW1th a source of electrical supply of track contacts atthe entrance andexit ends of the block, a relay provided with a plurality of coilspositioned at the exit end of. the block, a

artial circuit including one coil of said reay and a track contact atthe entrance end of the block, a partial circuit including another coilof the relay and a track contact at the exit end of the block, a circuitincluding the separable contacts of said relay and connecting the mainsupply conductor with the segregated portion thereof,abranch leadingfrom said last mentioned circuit, to and including a safety signal, anda branch circuit including a manually operated switch forming asecondary connection between said relay and the supply conductor wherebythe system may be manually controlled.

2. In an electrical railroad system,l the combination with a block ofrailroad, a supply conductor provided with electrically segregatedportions at each end of the block, conductors shunting said segregatedpor- -tions of the conductor, and rolling equipment, of a relay at eachend of the block, means controlled by the rolling equipment foroperating said relays, a plurality of circuits including the separablecontacts of said relays and connecting the main conductor with thesegregated portions thereof, a shoe carried by the-rolling equipment, avparti al circuit including said shoe, an electromagnetically-controlledvalve in the brake system of the rolling equipment and included in saidpartial circuit, track contacts in advance of the. segregated conductorsections, a partial circuit including said track contacts, and circuitclosures controlled by the relays and included in said last-mentionedpartial circuits.

3. In an electrical railroad System` the combination with a block ofrailroad, a supply conductor provided with electrically segregatedportions at each end of the block, conductors shunting said segregatedconductor sections, and rolling equipment, of circuits connecting themain conductor with said segregated portions thereof, means controlledautomatically by the rolling equipment for opening and closing saidcircuits.

and a normally open manually-operated switch positioned fin-branchcircuits at each end of the block-for manually controlling the' closingof said circuits, said branch circuits forming secondary connectionswith the supply conductor. f

4; In an-electric railroad s stem, the 'com bination with a block ofraihoad, a supply' conductor 'provided with yan electrically segregatedsection adjacent one end ofthe .block, a conductor connected around saidsegregated section, a connection betweenthe main supply conductor andthe segregated section, a switch and a step by step mechanismcontrolling the same, a circult including a danger signal, meanscontrolled by a ca r entering the block at the other end for openingsaid connection and closing the danger signal circuit and'or operatingsaid step by step mechanism in one direction, said switch being movedAt0 Operative position only upon. subsequent operations of the vstep by.step mechanism after the first, and

means controlled by a carpassing out of the block forfirst closing `saidconnection and then opening said connection, provided the switch is inoperative position, and for operating said step by step mechanism in areverse direction. E Y

5. In an electrical railroad system, the combination with a block of,railroad, a supply conductor provided with electrically segregatedportions at respective ends of the block, conductors shunting saidsegregated portions of the supply and conductor, and rolling equipment,of a circuit at each end of the block connectin said segregated portionsWith the supp y conductor, circuit opening and circuit closing meanscontrolled by the rolling equipment adapted to open and close saidcircuits, a partial circuit at the exit end of' the block'and includingsaid circuit opening meansLa circuit closer in said partial circuit,electromagnetically operated means controlled by the rolling equipmententering the block for closing said last' mentioned circuit closer, andelectro-magnetically operated means controlled by the rolling equipmentleaving the block for opening said last-mentioned circuit closer.

In testimony whereof, I affix my signature, 1n presenceolf:l twoWitnesses.

Minen STRANG. lVitnesses FRED B. Woon,

S. P. Hosrrnn.

